


Nine Lives

by GenerallyHuxurious (GallifreyanOmnishambles)



Series: Huxurious Huxloween [11]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Veterinarians, Animal Abuse, Blood, Cats, Happy Ending, M/M, Shirtless, Tree Climbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-08-22 01:21:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8267509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GallifreyanOmnishambles/pseuds/GenerallyHuxurious
Summary: Set in the Animal Welfare AU - Armitage Hux hates Halloween, Bonfire Night and all the mindless acts of cruelty that haunt the time between those holidays. Kylo agrees and together they try to find away to reduce the horror. Why Kylo has to take his shirt off for this is anyone's guess. [For Huxloween day 12.]





	

“I swear to fucking god I'm going to end this month on a fucking murder charge!!”

The Knights looked up from preparing dinner at the muffled sound of Hux’ swearing. Rolling his eyes Kylo switched on the kettle while Millicent uncurled from her spot between Saber’s legs in the dog’s oversized bed and sauntered casually into the hall to greet her human. 

“Hi Mil, I’m sorry darling did I scare you?” Hux murmured, his words half lost under the rustling of his uniform. 

“You scared me!” Ikvar called down the corridor to him.

“You’ll live.” Hux said, self consciously shuffling into the room in boxer shorts and a towel.

Returning home covered in blood, sweat and manure was such a common occurrence for the inhabitants of the R.E.N centre that all entrances to the property had been adapted into mudrooms to contain the mess. Which was certainly practical from a cleanliness perspective, but it did mean the occupants wandering around in their underwear until clean clothes were obtained. Mysteriously the Knights themselves rarely bothered to find any at all.

On a normal day this would be the point when the Knights affectionately teased their boss’ pale, skinny boyfriend while he griped about the polyamorous collective’s various deficiencies in behaviour and decorum. Hux braced for the teasing, but it didn't come.

“Shit, Hux, who's blood is that?!” Tanma said quietly, slipping down from his stool to approach the subdued looking redhead.

Hux looked down at the mess all over his torso and forearms. “Mostly mine I guess. I hadn't realised it was this bad, must be the black uniform.”

He swayed slightly, Millicent tense in his arms until the Knights had guided him to sit at the kitchen table. Kylo handed him a cup of tea and rubbed his back while the others bustled around with the first aid kit.

The scratches weren't deep but there were a lot of them and it took three of the Knights working together fifteen minutes to clean him up. The other three finished dinner, pausing to listen to Hux’ explanation and offer suggestions.

“So? Some kind of cat?” Kylo asked, his eyes wandering over the pattern of wounds.

“Yeah, I think it's a Bengal-cross... or maybe it's actually an escaped puma from someone's private collection.” Hux said, holding his hands out to demonstrate size and getting scolded for moving in the process. “Huge thing, at least nine kilo and mad as hell.”

“And why did you let it savage you exactly?”

“Ha ha.” Hux stuck his tongue out.

Kylo stroked his hair soothingly.

“It's fucking Halloween.” He said bitterly.

The crowd of vets nodded. They knew the nastiness October always brought with it, and the uniquely British November horrors that followed.

“What happened?”

“Some fucker strung it up in a trick-or-treat bag from a tree and left it. Probably a few days ago too- it was in a terrible mess and it had chewed itself half free by the time I got there.” He nodded towards the half bandaged wounds. “It was understandably pissed off.”

“Is it going to be ok do you think?” Romon asked from their position by the stove. They were shifting uncomfortably as they tried to ease the pressure on their back and Hux felt guilty for drawing away their helpers.

“I don't know. I think it had a broken front leg but it was so angry and big I couldn't keep hold of it once it was out of the bag.”

“Well, you know what they say about letting cats out of bags…” Tanma said in an ill judged attempt to lighten the mood.

“Poor thing.”

“I've put a trap down and a bunch of parents from the estate are going to keep checking it through the night. Hopefully we can catch it without the bastards who did this getting hold of it again.”

“I wish we could do something to help all the strays,” Trjah said a little sadly, “This happens every single year and all we can do is clean up the mess.”

“And Bonfire Night.”

Everyone in the room made the same half disgusted, half mournful noise before sinking into a depressed silence. If it wasn’t black cats being targeted for superstitious reasons it was dogs being spray painted; misuse of fireworks; paper lanterns burning down stables or hedgehogs getting fatally confused by bonfires. It was exhausting, soul crushing work, especially for a household where seven out of the eight residents considered Halloween to be the most important holiday of the year, only to see it spoiled by human viciousness and stupidity.

They were all eating dinner by the time anyone felt up to eating again. Hux was wearing Kylo’s borrowed oversized shirt and was slightly distracted by the eternally tempting view of his naked chest, which was his only excuse for misunderstanding Tanma’s suggestion.

“What about spay and release?” The knight mumbled around a mouthful of quorn sausage.

“A bit late for that isn’t it?” Hux said without thinking, glancing toward Romon’s bump. They made a rude gesture at him.

“I meant the cats!”

“Ah, sorry.” Hux shrugged. “What would that achieve other than fewer cats in future?”

“Well, if we timed it right we could get them all in before Halloween and then keep them to ‘recover’ until after Bonfire Night. We’re self funded, no one’s going to notice if we have a bunch of already spayed and neutered cats in the residential block.”

Kylo made an interested noise and turned to grab a notepad. He had that look he got when he was on a mission and Hux couldn’t help but smile. 

“Have we got space though?” 

“Well, we do if we…” 

This was going to be a long discussion, but hopefully some good would come of it.

* * *

“Look, I’m not speculating,” Hux called to the figure he could just see awkwardly perched on a branch fifteen feet above his head. “I am down right  _ telling _ you - the fire brigade is not going to come out for a cat in a tree that’s only been there three hours.”

“Hux, I’m pretty sure his foot his broken!”

“But we still saw him get up there, so he can get down again. Seriously Kylo I’ve been doing this for six fucking years, they have to be up the tree for at least three days! Get your butt down here right now, you’re probably scaring him. We’ll put some tuna down...”

“No, no I think I can reach him…” There was some rustling and a shower of orange leaves around Hux’ head and Kylo shifted along the branch. “Here puss puss puss who’s a good lad… Yes you are…”

There was a yowl.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok, it’s ok… I know how you feel, you don’t trust humans because they hurt you. I know how that is, I do, shush shush shush… I know people can be mean but there’s still good out there I promise, we’re going to help you. We’re going to get you somewhere nice and warm and safe…”

Hux frowned as the cat shifted on the branch enough that he could see it clearly. It was huge - fluffed up and clearly livid.

“Kylo, be careful, that’s definitely the one that attacked me, please don’t get knocked out a tree by an angry cat!!”

“He’s got a scar on his face that looks like it was from a serrated blade,” Kylo shouted down, “someone’s hurt this poor boy pretty bad!”

“Then cornering it in a tree is a really bad idea!” 

“It’s ok, I know you’re not as mean as the ginger says,” Kylo said to the cat, ignoring the growl from the man on the ground, “I know there’s still good in you, show me the way….”

The cat leapt, it’s weight dislodging so many leaves that it was a full minute before Hux could see Kylo again clearly. He’d expected him to be either covered in blood or hanging precariously from the branch. 

Instead he was holding the massive tom cat against his chest like a baby. Hux could hear it purring even from the ground.

“Huuuux? You know how you said the fire service wouldn’t come out from a cat stuck up a tree?”

“Yeeeeeaaah?” Hux replied, already knowing what Kylo was about to say.

“What about a human stuck in a tree?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake!”

* * *

There had been an argument amongst the firefighters. Oddly enough it hadn’t been about whether or not to rescue Kylo and his fuzzy captive from the tree but rather who got to do so. They’d ended up playing rock/paper/scissors for it.

The entire thing had been a mystery to Hux until Kylo actually got to the bottom of the tree. He’d definitely been wearing a shirt when he’d climbed up. And when he’d caught the cat. And yet now… 

Clearly the fire service should hire Kylo as a permanent asset, since his naked chest inspired enough drool to put out a fire of any size. 

Hux wasn’t jealous and he absolutely wasn’t sulking. He just had an urgent call out elsewhere, that was all. 

* * *

That evening he found Kylo lounging across the sofa in the common room, his feet up on the armrest, his shirt still mysteriously absent and the bandaged form of the huge black cat asleep across his knees. From the shape of his leg they’d had to amputate the foot.

From her perch on his shoulder Millicent made a sympathetic noise and leapt down to greet her new fellow tripod. The tom cat looked back at her with wary disinterest.

Kylo looked up at Hux’ question.

“His name is Anakin. After my grandfather- he had one hand and a scar over his eye too.”

“That’s great, but it doesn’t answer the question ‘where is your shirt?’, does it?”

“What shirt?” Kylo asked with a grin. 

Hux shook his head. “It’s October, and you know how drafty this house is, you’re going to freeze. I’m not going to look after you if you get a cold from showing off.”

The tom cat growled slightly as Kylo sat up, patting the space behind his own back.

“Come keep me warm then.”

“You’re such a child.” Hux said as he settled onto the sofa and pulled Kylo back to lean against his chest.

“You know you love it.”

“Mmhmm.”


End file.
